Genre Categories:
The categories were created directly from the PLOs for English 9.
STUDENTS MUST WRITE AT LEAST ONE PIECE FROM EACH CATEGORY AT GRADE LEVEL BY THE END OF GRADE 9 ENGLISH IN ORDER TO PASS.
The examples (ideas) listed are NOT the only pieces students can write--but they must write SOMETHING to fulfil the goal of each category. For instance, if a student writes a "narrative essay" (not listed here), it could be a Category 1 piece (if the story is a true, it-happened-to-me one), or a Category 4 piece (if it is made up). It could even be a Category 6 piece if, for example, the events happened to someone else, but you wrote from their point of view (like, "How It Felt to Be Re-elected President "by" Barack Obama" :))
In all cases, remember that the portfolio pieces are WRITING pieces. It is difficult (if not impossible) to assess your writing/representing skills if you submit something which does not clearly show your skills--something very short, or in bulleted list form. Be sure you are handing in a piece that shows off your very best writing. In the case of a short piece--expand it. In the case of a bulleted list--tell why you chose each item. In other words, look at your work through a teacher's eyes before you put it in the "in box."
CATEGORY 1 texts are "personal texts exploring ideas...to experiment, express oneself, make connections, reflect and respond, or remember and recall".
These sorts of texts are your own opinions, thoughts and ideas, written to connect ideas together, respond to something you've read, heard, or seen, or to help you remember something.
Examples of category 1 texts are things like: personal responses to a short story, poem, book, TV program, or play; a journal entry discussing your own feelings about something going on in your life, writing about memories of your own past, writing a song expressing your feelings, etc.
CATEGORY 2 texts are "personal texts...informational", that is, something that tells your audience about YOU. Telling your audience who you are, what you like, what you do or don't do, and so on, would all fit into this category.
Examples of category 2 texts are things like: a resume; a "top 10" list of your likes, dislikes, pet peeves, favourite video games or foods; an autobiography; a memoir, etc.
CATEGORY 3 texts are "purposeful non-fiction". They are FACT-BASED pieces, usually with some research involved (remember to cite your sources). These can have different purposes, such as to explore a topic, to respond to another factual piece, to record and describe something, or to analyse and explain an interesting topic.
Examples of category 3 texts are things like: a biography of your favourite author, singer or hero; a report on an endangered species; a letter to a government official expressing your knowledge and opinion on a topic; a description of something (real) that is important to you, etc.
CATEGORY 4 texts are "effective imaginative texts", that is, good made-up stories---fiction. They should help you develop insight, let you experiment with style and language, or engage and entertain your audience.
Examples of category 4 texts are things like: a ghost story (that you make up); a tall tale; rewriting a common story from an unusual point of view (what if you wrote "Little Red Riding Hood" from the wolf's point of view?); a children's book, etc.
CATEGORY 5 texts are "representations that communicate ideas and information". They are usually NOT written, but spoken, filmed, drawn, or photographed. The piece should help you explore ideas or respond to something you have read, heard, or seen. Some of them might simply be there to record and describe things; others might be there to explain something or persuade your audience. This category emphasises your REPRESENTING skills and your grasp of the principles and elements of design to communicate. Your choices of colour, form, perspective, unity, shape, texture, shading, and so on affect your message--be sure your piece uses these for a purpose.
Examples of category 5 texts are things like: drawings of scenes from a story or novel; a TV commercial for a product (real or made up) on video; a graphic organizer for your Science notes; a graph showing which novels students like and which they disliked, and so on.
CATEGORY 6 texts are "varied ideas for writing". This is your opportunity to try something you've never tried to write before. They could be to make some connections, or to set a purpose and write for a particular audience.
Examples of category 6 texts are things like: a police report; a children's book; a sonnet (or a series of sonnets); a formal speech for in front of the school; a TV interview script (with camera shots), etc.
For reminders of how the Writing section of the course is marked, click on "Writing Grades" on the menu to the left.
To review how Writers' Workshop works, see the main Writers' Workshop page.
Remember that you can print your own Writing Self-Assessments from the main Writers' Workshop page as well.
Not sure what to do? Try this SELF-HELP HANDBOOK first. Responding as an author checklist. Responding as a reader checklist.
Some ideas for things you could write
(you'll have to figure out which category to put them in yourself!):
Adventure story
Advertisement
Animal story
Announcement
Article
Autobiography
Ballad
Biography
Blurb
Chant
Character Study
Charm
Children's Literature
Chronicle
Comic
Concrete Poetry
Dedication
Definition
Description
Dialogue
Diary
Documentary
Editorial
Epilogue
Epitaph
Essay
Eulogy
Exposition
Fable
Fairy Tale
Fantasy
Folklore
Folk Song
Folk Tale
Found Poetry
Free Verse
Ghost Story
Gothic Writing
Haiku (though these are awfully short for showing off your writing skill!)
Historical Fiction
Hymn
Mystery
Myth
Narrative Poetry
Novel
Obituary
Ode
Orders
Parable
Parallel Poetry
Parody
Philosophy
Plaque (again, usually too short...)
Plot
Prayer
Proclamation
Profile
Prologue
Psalm
Question and Answer
Reportage
Requiem
Review
Rules
Satire
Scenario
Science Fiction
Script
Sermon
Short Story
Soliloquy
Song
Sonnet
Speech
Stream of Consciousness
Synopsis (again, often very short...hard to show me what you can do)
Transcript
Urban Tales
Valentine
Verse
Western
Word Play
X-Word
Yarns
Zodiac
(The above list is from ABC's of Creative Writing by David W. Booth and Stanley Skinner (Globe/Modern Curriculum Press, Toronto, 1981)
ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF! JUST FIGURE OUT WHICH CATEGORY IT BELONGS IN!
The categories were created directly from the PLOs for English 9.
STUDENTS MUST WRITE AT LEAST ONE PIECE FROM EACH CATEGORY AT GRADE LEVEL BY THE END OF GRADE 9 ENGLISH IN ORDER TO PASS.
The examples (ideas) listed are NOT the only pieces students can write--but they must write SOMETHING to fulfil the goal of each category. For instance, if a student writes a "narrative essay" (not listed here), it could be a Category 1 piece (if the story is a true, it-happened-to-me one), or a Category 4 piece (if it is made up). It could even be a Category 6 piece if, for example, the events happened to someone else, but you wrote from their point of view (like, "How It Felt to Be Re-elected President "by" Barack Obama" :))
In all cases, remember that the portfolio pieces are WRITING pieces. It is difficult (if not impossible) to assess your writing/representing skills if you submit something which does not clearly show your skills--something very short, or in bulleted list form. Be sure you are handing in a piece that shows off your very best writing. In the case of a short piece--expand it. In the case of a bulleted list--tell why you chose each item.
In other words, look at your work through a teacher's eyes before you put it in the "in box."
CATEGORY 1 texts are "personal texts exploring ideas...to experiment, express oneself, make connections, reflect and respond, or remember and recall".
These sorts of texts are your own opinions, thoughts and ideas, written to connect ideas together, respond to something you've read, heard, or seen, or to help you remember something.
Examples of category 1 texts are things like: personal responses to a short story, poem, book, TV program, or play; a journal entry discussing your own feelings about something going on in your life, writing about memories of your own past, writing a song expressing your feelings, etc.
CATEGORY 2 texts are "personal texts...informational", that is, something that tells your audience about YOU. Telling your audience who you are, what you like, what you do or don't do, and so on, would all fit into this category.
Examples of category 2 texts are things like: a resume; a "top 10" list of your likes, dislikes, pet peeves, favourite video games or foods; an autobiography; a memoir, etc.
CATEGORY 3 texts are "purposeful non-fiction". They are FACT-BASED pieces, usually with some research involved (remember to cite your sources). These can have different purposes, such as to explore a topic, to respond to another factual piece, to record and describe something, or to analyse and explain an interesting topic.
Examples of category 3 texts are things like: a biography of your favourite author, singer or hero; a report on an endangered species; a letter to a government official expressing your knowledge and opinion on a topic; a description of something (real) that is important to you, etc.
CATEGORY 4 texts are "effective imaginative texts", that is, good made-up stories---fiction. They should help you develop insight, let you experiment with style and language, or engage and entertain your audience.
Examples of category 4 texts are things like: a ghost story (that you make up); a tall tale; rewriting a common story from an unusual point of view (what if you wrote "Little Red Riding Hood" from the wolf's point of view?); a children's book, etc.
CATEGORY 5 texts are "representations that communicate ideas and information". They are usually NOT written, but spoken, filmed, drawn, or photographed. The piece should help you explore ideas or respond to something you have read, heard, or seen. Some of them might simply be there to record and describe things; others might be there to explain something or persuade your audience. This category emphasises your REPRESENTING skills and your grasp of the principles and elements of design to communicate. Your choices of colour, form, perspective, unity, shape, texture, shading, and so on affect your message--be sure your piece uses these for a purpose.
Examples of category 5 texts are things like: drawings of scenes from a story or novel; a TV commercial for a product (real or made up) on video; a graphic organizer for your Science notes; a graph showing which novels students like and which they disliked, and so on.
CATEGORY 6 texts are "varied ideas for writing". This is your opportunity to try something you've never tried to write before. They could be to make some connections, or to set a purpose and write for a particular audience.
Examples of category 6 texts are things like: a police report; a children's book; a sonnet (or a series of sonnets); a formal speech for in front of the school; a TV interview script (with camera shots), etc.
For reminders of how the Writing section of the course is marked, click on "Writing Grades" on the menu to the left.
To review how Writers' Workshop works, see the main Writers' Workshop page.
Remember that you can print your own Writing Self-Assessments from the main Writers' Workshop page as well.
Not sure what to do? Try this SELF-HELP HANDBOOK first.
Responding as an author checklist.
Responding as a reader checklist.
Some ideas for things you could write
(you'll have to figure out which category to put them in yourself!):
- Adventure story
- Advertisement
- Animal story
- Announcement
- Article
- Autobiography
- Ballad
- Biography
- Blurb
- Chant
- Character Study
- Charm
- Children's Literature
- Chronicle
- Comic
- Concrete Poetry
- Dedication
- Definition
- Description
- Dialogue
- Diary
- Documentary
- Editorial
- Epilogue
- Epitaph
- Essay
- Eulogy
- Exposition
- Fable
- Fairy Tale
- Fantasy
- Folklore
- Folk Song
- Folk Tale
- Found Poetry
- Free Verse
- Ghost Story
- Gothic Writing
- Haiku (though these are awfully short for showing off your writing skill!)
- Historical Fiction
- Hymn
- Mystery
- Myth
- Narrative Poetry
- Novel
- Obituary
- Ode
- Orders
- Parable
- Parallel Poetry
- Parody
- Philosophy
- Plaque (again, usually too short...)
- Plot
- Prayer
- Proclamation
- Profile
- Prologue
- Psalm
- Question and Answer
- Reportage
- Requiem
- Review
- Rules
- Satire
- Scenario
- Science Fiction
- Script
- Sermon
- Short Story
- Soliloquy
- Song
- Sonnet
- Speech
- Stream of Consciousness
- Synopsis (again, often very short...hard to show me what you can do)
- Transcript
- Urban Tales
- Valentine
- Verse
- Western
- Word Play
- X-Word
- Yarns
- Zodiac
(The above list is from ABC's of Creative Writing by David W. Booth and Stanley Skinner (Globe/Modern Curriculum Press, Toronto, 1981)ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF! JUST FIGURE OUT WHICH CATEGORY IT BELONGS IN!